Into the Void

The trees

Shed their autumn colours

A gleam of purple

Tinged with gold

Yellow

Twisting, pirouettes

And ruby maple leaves

All falling

Leaf by leaf

From the emptiness

Of heaven

A silent dance

A downward passage

To alight

In crowded clusters

In the damp

Scented earth

Against an ancient wall

Curling

As they lean

Towards the sun

Shivering

At the touch of the breeze

And scattering

At sudden wintery gusts

Once without a voice

Now raucous

In decline

Crackling whispers

As they shift

And separate

In their demise

Until a single leaf

Alone is left

Clinging fast

A solitary soul

Bereft

Against a clear blue sky

Balancing

The joy of light

Against the loneliness

The choice is clear

So it leaves behind

All that it knows

And gliding out

Into the void

Falls gracefully

And without a hint of fear

© Ann Bagnall 2015.